Great Rift Valley’s Jastas Madoya in round three action at the Muthaiga Golf Club. Photo/COURTESY
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 14 – Great Rift Valley golfer Jastas Madoya reclaimed his lead at the eighth round of the Safari Tour in Muthaiga Golf Club as the leg entered Day Three.
Madoya, who had relinquished the lead to Greg Snow after the second round, shot two birdies; on the par-5 fourth and par-three fifth, while dropping one shot at the par-3 second in the front nine, for a turning score of 1-under par, 35.
Further birdies at the tenth, fourteenth and eighteenth coupled with a sole bogey at the twelfth, saw him return a round score of 3-under par 68.
Speaking after his round, Madoya highlighted his strong putting as one of the reasons behind his strong showing.
“I played much better today, my putting improved from yesterday, and I hope I can play the same tomorrow, post an even better score and eventually win the tournament,” he said.
Overnight leader Snow failed to recover from an opening pair of bogeys at the first and second, dropping further shots at the fifth and seventh in the front nine.
A birdie at the tenth followed by three scores of par in the next holes seemed to have halted the slide, it was however short lived, as he dropped another shot at the par-4 14th and compounding his woes with a double bogey on the 18th, for a round score of 6-over par, 78, to see him drop three places on the leaderboard on an overall score of 6-over par, 219, three shots behind Madoya.
The day’s best score came from Golf Park’s David Wakhu, who carded a score of 4-under par, 67, off a strong display in the front nine, which bagged him four of his five birdies in the round, taking his gross score to 5-over par, 218, in second place alongside Thika Golf Club’s Simon Ngige who shot a round of par.
The stage is set for a pulsating finish to the eighth leg of the 2019/20 Safari tour, with up to eight players with a realistic chance of claiming the title in Muthaiga, the battle for the amateur silver salver is also set to go to the wire with Mutahi Kibugu and Daniel Nduva tied in 7th place on a gross score of 7-over par, 220. Round four action will tee off at 7:30am.
Safari Tour Calendar 2019/20
Event 1 Nyali Golf and Country Club: 24th – 28th August 2019 (Winner: Greg Snow)
Event 2 Uganda Open:10th – 14th Sept 2019 (Winner: Madalitso Muthiya)
Event 3 Royal Nairobi Golf Club: 12th – 16th October 2019 (Winner: Tony Omuli)
Event 4 Entebbe Open (Entebbe Golf Club): 30th Oct – 2nd Nov 2019 (Winner: Jastas Madoya)
Event 5 Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort Open: 6th – 9th Nov 2019 (Winner: Dismas Indiza)
Event 6 Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf Resort: 23rd – 27th Nov2019 (Winner: Dismas Indiza)
Event 7 Thika Greens: 4th – 8th January 2020 (Winner: Greg Snow)
Event 8 Muthaiga Golf Club: 11th – 15th January 2020
Event 9 Sigona Golf Club: 25th – 29th January 2020
Event 10 Kitante Open (Uganda Golf Club): 12th – 15th February 2020
Event 11 Karen Country Club: 22nd -26th February 2020
2019 Magical Kenya Open, Karen Country Club, 12th – 15th March 2020.
